O l i v e r B e n j a m i n
Eastern European descent sprung out. He looked fairly clean-cut,
with monogrammed pajamas, a close shave and fuzzy bedroom
slippers. He also had an enormous nose. Not at all what Victoria had
anticipated. Even more unexpected was his strangely nasal voice.
“Good morning, ladies! I presume that was the big California
earthquake we’ve all been waiting for. Could one of you point me to
the beach?”
“Sorry
mi amore
, we’re still landlocked. I could fill the inflatable
pool for you, if you’d like.”
He shuffled up to the two of them. “That won’t be necessary. I’ll
just go and have a conversation with that cactus over there.”
“Good idea, sweetie. You have fun, now. Victoria and I are going
inside for some coffee.”
“Nice to meet you, Victoria,” he said. “You must have heard a lot
about me. I’ve heard about you. No point making small talk, don’t
you think?”
Before she could react appropriately, the clumsy gnome-like
fellow walked over to a large old cactus and introduced himself.
“Couldn’t agree more,” said Victoria derisively.
“Don’t be intimidated,” said Madame Jewel, watching him
dreamily, “he operates on a level that we lesser beings can’t begin to
comprehend.”
Victoria had a sudden urge to change the subject, but she wasn’t
sure what the subject had been in the first place, so she chose to
remain silent. After a long, hard drive she really needed some coffee.
They entered the gypsy-themed trailer. Tiny lights and little
mirrors hung everywhere. Victoria plopped down on the velvet-
draped couch while Jewel set to work meticulously grinding coffee
beans, grating fresh cinnamon, and steaming some milk. After she
had poured the coffee and added cardamon powder, she brought the
mugs over to the coffee table and raised one of them just under
Victoria’s nose. The journey had evidently taken its toll, as she had
fallen asleep. However, it didn’t take long before she woke up and
smelled the coffee, both literally, and afterwards in the figurative
sense.
Groggy at the outset, but then with accelerating enthusiasm, she
explained how a scientist she met had invented an amazing new
machine that was both stairway to heaven, and highway to hell.
After the seventh Jack Daniels, Harvey told her of his obsession.
He had developed a revolutionary new device that could actually
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